The team rises and falls on play of Shewchuk's line. If the three of them are playing well, Harvard can dominate a game, as it did in the first period against Brown.

If Shewchuk does not play up to her potential, however, there is not another player who can immediately step in and fill the void.

By normal standards, Shewchuk didn't have a bad night. With a goal and two assists, she might have been the best player on the ice, but she didn't dominate like she has in the past.

"It's nice to be back with all my teammates," Shewchuk said. "But we still have a lot of things to work on. We just weren't seeing each other out there tonight."

Away with the Canadian National team, neither Shewchuk nor Botterill had practiced with the rest of the team for almost two weeks before their return Monday, and it showed.

"I think they were out of sink," Stone said. "And they weren't ready to play in a Harvard uniform. They just need more time practicing with the rest of the team."

Given the noticeable absences over the past couple of weeks, Harvard's recent struggles are hopefully only bumps in the road.

And even though Shewchuk, Botterill, and Springer were back in the lineup against Brown, there was still a spillover effect from their absence.